The life of Rob Ford

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A look at the world’s most famous mayor

Author: trey lansdell – contributor

Toronto city hall, a den of scum and villainy! / Taxiarchos228

Toronto city hall, a den of scum and villainy! / Taxiarchos228

On Jan. 2, 2014, the registration of candidates for the Toronto mayoral election began. This drew a wave of fascinating candidates, including high-school students, neo-Nazi political leaders, musicians, comedians, and finally, Rob Ford.

The Toronto mayoral election tends to be a dull topic to many, and understandably so. However, even those who have not kept up to date with Toronto’s politics will recognize the name Rob Ford. Through his public outbursts, drug-fuelled escapades, and often-hilarious controversy, he has managed to shine a spotlight on himself, his family, and the city of Toronto. With his announcement of running for re-election, it seemed that for better or worse, Rob Ford was here to stay. However, on Sept. 12, Mr. Ford shocked many, claiming that he was dropping out of the race and leaving it to his brother, Doug Ford.

Though his announcement left many confused, and possibly relieved, the announcement on Sept. 17 sheds some light on the situation. It was revealed that Rob Ford is fighting a battle with cancer. Though doctors remain optimistic, it explains his withdrawal from the running. However, there are still many candidates left within the running for mayor of Toronto.

Two promising candidates are John Tory and Olivia Chow. Tory, former leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, has taken to the campaign with the claim that a downtown relief line is his top priority; for those unfamiliar with the term, the relief line will be a subway line.

The second candidate, Chow, was a former NDP member of parliament for Trinity – Spadina, an electoral district in Ontario.

Those are only two of the candidates from a pool of dozens. The number can seem staggering, though fortunately, political science professor Dr. Jim Farney was able to share his views on the election.

“The election has actually been less interesting than I would have expected. There seems to be a consistently strong break on the right. I am fairly shocked with Olivia Chow, however. I thought she would have been stronger for longer. But, no, it seems fairly normal, with a strong focus on the topics of taxes and transit.” said Farney

As ever, when dealing with Toronto civic elections Rob Ford is the focus. But as Farney says, “there’s very little to say about him that hasn’t been said. He didn’t have an opportunity to do much, and his reasons for dropping out are fairly self-explanatory.”

With his thoughts on Rob stated, Farney went on to discuss his thoughts on Doug Ford, Rob’s brother.

“I always thought he was the more competent one,” he says, laughing. “He is definitely less charismatic, but he seems to get things done. Even so, I don’t think he has much of a chance.”

For Farney, there is only one real contender in the election – John Tory.

“He has been the front runner since the start. He has a strong political background, and with Chow falling behind and Rob dropping, out he seems to have the best chance.”

The election takes place on Oct. 27 2014.

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